communication, ethics

Chapter 11 describes the news values considered by editorial boards as criteria for gatekeeping. These values are:

·Impact

·Proximity

·Timeliness

·Prominence

·Conflict

·Currency

·The bizarre

Apply the theory of gatekeeping to a newspaper of your choice by doing the following:

1) Choose one newspaper to analyze.

2) Analyze the news values reflected on the front page (2nd page, etc. as well if you are ambitious) by:

a.creating a list of all the stories mentioned on the front page of the newspaper

b.identifying the topic each story is about a brief description of the article

c.identifying the main news value (or values) the story possesses (a description of each value is available in the textbook)

d.providing an explanation of why you think this value applies

3) Upload (and bring to class) a complete 2 page summary of your analysis along with the final list created in step 2---either as a separate word attachment or together as a pdf.  In your summary, be sure to reflect on the role of gatekeepers in the news selection process based on your sample. Which stories do you feel are covered too much? Too little? How would you act differently if you were an editor?